Umbrella

ABSTRACT

An improved umbrella frame comprising a four-rib canopy frame comprising only five parts plus a simplified four-panel canopy that greatly reduces manufacturing costs. The frame comprises four arms that snap together with a tool-less tongue and groove connection around a central shaft, allowing the four-panel canopy to be stretched over top. The tongue and groove assembly forms an improved runner that gently slides up and down the central shaft to provide open and close functions. The improved umbrella frame is lightweight and may-be quickly and easily assembled and disassembled for packing or storage.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present application derives priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication 62/450,823 filed Jan. 26, 2017.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to umbrellas and, more particularly, to animproved umbrella with a simplified mechanism for operation and simplerand more cost-effective manufacturing process.

2. Description of the Background

Umbrellas are an ancient technology that in large part hasn't changedfor hundreds of years. The most common prior art umbrella is builtaround a central, typically round, tube 1, as shown in FIG. 1. Theumbrella opens and closes using an outer runner 2 having a through-holecorresponding in size and shape to the central rube, which the user canslide up and down the tube between two positions—open and closed. Therunner is held in one of the two positions with spring locks 3, whichretract to let the runner pass over it then pop back out to prevent therunner from sliding backwards along the tube unless the userre-depresses the spring lock 3.

Typically, a plurality of stretchers 4 are attached to and extendradially out from the runner, attached at their other end to acorresponding rib 5 over which the umbrella canopy is stretched. As therunner travels up the pole, the distal ends of the stretchers are pushedoutwards and the ribs and canopy expand. To achieve this movement, theribs 5 are attached at one end in a position near the top of theumbrella pole, in the typical manufacturing process for a prior artumbrella, the ribs 5 are attached to the pole of the umbrella by fittinginto a top notch 6, a thin, round nylon or plastic piece with teetharound the edges, and then held with this wire. Often, a portion of pole1 extends beyond top notch 6 above the eventual canopy of the prior artumbrella and is fitted with a fertile or like stopper to contain themechanism and prevent splitting or cracking of the material making uppole 1.

The standard prior art umbrella is prone to a number of drawbacks. Oneis that the construction of the runner 2, stretchers 4, ribs 5 and-topnotch 6, typically from channeled steel or other thin metal, imparts adegree of flexibility to the umbrella's frame that makes it disposed towarping, bending, turning inside out, and the like. Given the attachmentof the ribs to the top notch, i.e. by fitting multiple ribs on top ofthe top notch and within vertical teeth, held together by a thin wire,there is insufficient resistance to the ribs overextending above the topof the umbrella and allowing the frame and attached canopy to turninside out under the force of even a moderate wind. In addition, theribs and/or stretchers of the prior art umbrella are often formed withone or more joints allowing the ribs and/or stretchers to fold back uponthemselves to make for more compact storage of the frame and canopy whenthe umbrella is closed. These joints make the prior art umbrella frameeven less stable when the user encounters wind, which often accompaniesprecipitation events in which the umbrella is designed to be used.

Another drawback of the prior art umbrella structure is the shape of thecanopy. As shown in FIG. 1, multiple ribs and stretchers are used tostretch the canopy in as many directions as possible to cover a roughlycircular shape around central pole, which presumably will be held in oneof the user's hands. In a typical prior art umbrella, the canopy of theumbrella is dome-shaped and to achieve the dome the canopy cannot be cutfrom one piece of material. Rather, it is constructed in multiplewedge-shaped panels. The panels are sewn along radial seams that formchannels for insertion of the ribs. The typical rain umbrella has eightpanels, although some umbrellas have six panels (children's umbrellasand parasols usually have six panels) and as many as twelve canoccasionally be found. As cars be seen, however, the more panels presentin the umbrella, the longer and more complex the manufacturing process.

In light of these drawbacks of the common prior an umbrella, it would begreatly advantageous to provide an improved umbrella with a simplifiedmechanism for operation, and simpler (and hence more cost-effective)manufacturing process. In addition, it would be advantageous to have an-umbrella that uses fewer canopy panels yet still provides the same orbetter coverage from precipitation or other elements as the standardeight-panel prior art umbrella. It would also be advantageous to have anumbrella that is more resistant to deformation from wind or otherforces.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide animproved umbrella frame comprising a limited number of solid parts toprovide a more simplistic and cost-effective manufacturing process andlow materials cost.

It is another object of the present invention to provide such anumbrella that is lightweight and capable of being easily and quicklyassembled and disassembled by a user without the need for any tools toallow ultimate portability and packability.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improvedumbrella with a simplified and more reliable opening and closingmechanism that is less prone to deformation or breakage under the stressof wind or other forces.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a safeumbrella frame that does not include a sharp point to reduce thepotential for harm to someone that may come into contact with the end ofthe umbrella, such as a person walking through a crowd.

According to the present invention, the above-described and otherobjects are accomplished by an improved umbrella frame comprising afour-rib canopy frame comprising only five parts plus a simplifiedfour-panel canopy that greatly reduces manufacturing costs. The framecomprises four arms that snap together with a tool-less tongue andgroove connection around a central shaft, allowing the four-panel canopyto be stretched over top. The tongue and groove assembly forms animproved runner that gently slides up and down the central shaft toprovide open and close functions. The improved umbrella frame islightweight and may be quickly and easily assembled and disassembled forpacking or storage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description of thepreferred embodiments and certain modifications thereof when takentogether with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a prior art eight-panel umbrella frame.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of umbrella 8 according to an embodiment ofthe present invention, looking up.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of umbrella 8 as in FIG. 2 looking down.

FIG. 4 is a composite perspective view of shaft 10 with enlarged insetsshowing the detail of clips 11 and 12.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a small arm of the umbrella.

FIG. 6 is a side view of shaft 10 of the small arm of the umbrella ofFIG. 5 with enlarged insets showing the detail of tongue-and-groove tabs23, 25.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a large arm of the umbrella withenlarged insets showing the detail of grooves 33, 35.

FIG. 8 is a side view of large arm of the umbrella of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a perspective partially-assembled view of umbrella 8 of FIGS.2-8.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an umbrella 108 according to analternative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the shaft 110 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a collar 114 used in the umbrella 108of FIGS. 10-11.

FIG. 13 is a top view of collar 114.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is an improved design for an umbrella that solvesmany of the drawbacks of the prior art umbrella design while alsoproviding a lightweight frame, simplified manufacturing process, andsafer construction.

Referring collectively to FIGS. 2 and 3, an embodiment of an umbrella 8according to the present invention is shown. The umbrella 8 generallyincludes a shaft 10 that may be constructed from a single molded pieceof polypropylene or other lightweight plastic, resin, or other polymermaterial. Although, co-molding or injection molding techniques aretypically used in the manufacturing process of the present invention,there are other known techniques capable of forming the parts making upthe umbrella described herein. The shaft 10 supports a foldable canopy18 preferably formed of a flat flexible sheet material, which serves asa rain shield. The umbrella 8 also includes a four-piece rib assembly 9as will be described attached to the shaft 10 and supporting the canopy18 thereon, and movable from a stowed to a deployed position.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the isolated shaft 10. A cap clip 11 is formedin the distal top end of shaft 10 to secure the rib assembly 9 via a cap15 formed thereby (see FIG. 2) as will be described. On what will be thebottom end of the shaft 10 during use, shaft 10 comprises a grip 13,which is formed from an undulating shape molded into the outer edges ofshaft 10 from the base thereof and for a length approximately that ofthe width of an adult human hand, as shown in FIG. 4. A lower clip 12 isformed approximately two-thirds of the way up shaft 10 towards cap clip11. Both the cap clip 11 and lower clip 12 are shown in enlarged insetsin FIG. 4.

Referring hack to FIG. 2 it can be seen that the overall shape of shaft10 roughly forms an elongated rectangle with a height of between 20 and60 cm, a width of between 2 and 7 cm, and a thickness of between 0.2 and4 cm. In a preferred embodiment, the dimensions of shaft 10 are 37.8 cmhigh, by 3.75 cm wide, by 0.5 cm thick. Grip 13 is formed in the longedges of shaft 10 as shown, and may comprise a total of four recessesalong the width of shaft 10 at a base thereof to accommodate four humanfingers for ease of gripping.

As seen in FIG. 2, the four-piece rib assembly 9 of umbrella 8 accordingto the present invention comprises four arms, two “small” arms 20 andtwo “large” arms 30, that connect to shaft 10 and support the umbrellacanopy 18. This simplified, four-arm construction provides a completedumbrella 8 which is far easier and less expensive to manufacture andwhich comprises a much more lightweight product than prior artumbrellas.

FIGS. 5-8 illustrate the construction of arms 20, 30 including how theyconnect to each other and to shaft 10, as well as the simplifiedraising/lowering mechanism according to the invention. All four arms 20,30 have a roughly T-shaped construction, inclusive of upper ribs 22, 32for supporting the canopy and pivotally-connected to corresponding lowerstretchers 21, 31. Each of the four stretchers 21,31 are configured attheir lowermost ends to join together in a sleeve 14 that surrounds andslides along the shaft 10 between the two clips 11, 12. The fourstretchers 21, 31 are pivotally connected at their uppermost end to acorresponding rib 22, 32 at about mid-length. The distal end ofstretchers 21, 31 joins the middle of ribs 22, 32, respectively, at aliving hinge or other pivot joint known in the art. The arms 20, 30 maybe of one-piece “monolithic” construction, molded of like material(s)and having similar thickness dimensions as shaft 10.

FIGS. 6 and 8 provide a set of exemplary dimensions. In a preferredembodiment, stretchers 21, 31 are approximately 208.25 mm long and ribs22, 32 site, approximately 402.2 mm long, with the attachment point tostretchers 21, 31 being approximately 172.95 mm from the distal end ofribs 22, 32. The lowermost ends of the four stretchers 21, 31 of each ofthe four arms 20, 30 are connected together by a tongue and groovelocking mechanism (see right insets) to form a four-sided sleeve 14(FIG. 2) surrounding shaft 10 and capable of sliding up and down thereonbetween lower clip 12 and cap 15 to open and close the umbrella canopyas will be described. Thus, FIG. 6 and its right inset shows a detailview of the tongue-and-groove interlocking end of stretchers 21 whichare identical on both small arms 20 and molded to form the tongueportions of sleeve 14, while FIG. 7 and its right inset shows a detailview of the corresponding end of stretchers 31 on both large arms 30which are molded to form the groove portions of sleeve 14. As shown inFIG. 7 (right inset), one or more opposing pairs of grooves 33 areformed through the entire thickness of stretchers 31 on both sides ofstretchers 31 in a region approximately 23 mm long beginning at the nearend of stretchers 31. Just above grooves 33 a living hinge 34 is formedby a perpendicular channel across the width of stretcher 31 as will bedescribed. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 6 (right inset), a correspondingnumber of tongue projections 23 are formed in a region approximately 23mm long beginning at the near end of stretchers 21. Tongues 23 areformed as projections extending perpendicularly out from an innersurface of stretchers 21 in a direction corresponding to the thicknessof stretchers 21. Both tongue 23 and groove 33 structures are preferablyevenly spaced along the length of stretchers 21, 31, and are ofcorresponding shape and size such that stretchers 21, 31 can be joinedby tongue and groove fit to form sleeve 14 of FIG. 2, having arectangular cross-section sized to fit around the cross-sectionaldimension of shaft 10. As shown, small stretchers 21 are designed to bealigned along the sides of shaft 10 while large stretchers 31 aredesigned to be aligned along the front and back of shaft 10. Toaccommodate this configuration, large stretchers 31 should have a widthof just wider than shaft 10, or approximately 32 mm, while smallstretchers 21 should have a width of just wider than the thickness ofshaft 10, or approximately 9.5 mm.

Identical tongue and groove locking mechanisms (see left insets) areformed at the distal end of ribs 22,32 to form a four-sided cap 15 (FIG.2) fixedly surrounding the upper distal end of shaft 10, and each of thefour ribs 22, 32 are thereby connected together to form a receptacle forengaging the top end of shaft 10.

The first step in assembling umbrella 8 is therefore to lock stretchers21, 31 together by tongue and groove fit around the base of shaft 10 asshown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 shows a partially-assembled umbrella 8 in which only the largearms 30 are secured onto shaft 10 to illustrate how the remainder ofarms 30 form the remainder of the umbrella's frame. As shown, the distalend of stretchers 31 attach via a flexible hinge to approximately amidpoint of ribs 32, and a near end of ribs 32 connect to the top end ofshaft 10 to form two sides of cap 15. Small arms 20 would then connectto shaft 10 and large arms 30 in a like fashion to form the sides ofsleeve 14 and cap 15 and the lateral dimension of the umbrella's frame,on which canopy 18 may be secured.

Referring again to FIGS. 6-7, living hinges 24, 34 are formed asreduced-thickness channels in stretchers 21, 31, respectively, directlyabove the tongue, and groove elements that together form sleeve 14. Thisprovides a flexible joint in all four stretchers 21, 31 directly abovesleeve 14. Thus, as shown in FIG. 9 on large arms 30, as sleeve 14 ispushed up towards the top of shaft 10, stretchers 31 flex outward topush open ribs 32 and the corresponding canopy 18.

Referring to FIG. 4 (including lower left inset), lower clip 12 preventssleeve 14 from sliding down shaft 10 after it is pushed up to open theumbrella frame and canopy. Lower clip 12 is situated about two thirds ofthe way up shaft 10 towards the top of shaft 10. Lower clip 12 is formedfrom symmetrical grooves 121 in either side of shaft 10 by a progressivenarrowing of shaft 10 in the area of upper clip 12. Further, lower clip12 comprises two correspondingly-sized detent prongs 122 that protrudeslightly from the sides of shaft 10, yet deform into grooves 121 whensleeve 14 passes over them. After sleeve 14 to passes over clip 12,prongs 122 spring back into place and form an obstruction slightly widerthan the width of shaft 10, preventing sleeve 14 from sliding back downshaft 10 unless the user squeezes prongs 122 to deform them back intogrooves 121.

FIGS. 6 and 7 (left insets) illustrate the second tongue and grooveattachment at the distal end of ribs 22 that combine to form four-sidedcap 15 (see also FIG. 2) fixedly surrounding the upper distal end ofshaft 10, and each of the four ribs 22, 32 are connected togetherthereby. Cap 15 is an attachment point between the top of shaft 10 andthe near ends of ribs 22, 32. Similar to sleeve 14, cap 15 is formed bythe insertion of one or more tongues 25 formed in the near end of ribs22 into a corresponding number of grooves 35 on the near end of ribs 32.Ribs 32, which form the two sides of cap 15, further comprise an opening35 of corresponding size and shape to tongues 25.

Just as with lower clip 12, upper clip 11 includes resilient prongs orlegs that project outward from the sides of shaft 10 and engage holes 26in in ribs 22 (see FIG. 6 left inset). The resilient prongs of upperclip 11 are sized and shaped to deform into under compression intorecesses in shaft 10, allowing the user to disengage and remove cap 15from the end of shaft 10.

As shown in FIG. 4, shaft 10 may further comprises a series ofdecorative cutouts 16 through the entire thickness thereof along itsentire length. Cutouts 16 may be sized to comprise between ¼ and ¾ ofthe width of shaft 10 at any given location, being of a smaller diameterwhere shaft 10 is narrow to preserve the structural integrity of shaft10.

After final assembly of the components described herein, namely,attachment of stretchers 21, 31 around shaft 10 to form sleeve 14, andattachment of ribs 22, 32 around shaft 10 to form cap 15, a canopy 18made of suitable waterproof and/or UV limiting sheet material may beattached to the four distal ends of ribs 22, 32. In a preferredembodiment the canopy 18 is preferably a rectangular sheet of Mylar™,though any other suitable waterproof and/or UV limiting material maysuffice.

It should now be apparent that the foregoing results in an improvedumbrella frame that comprises a limited number of solid parts to providea more simplistic and cost-effective manufacturing process and asimplified and more reliable opening and closing mechanism. Theresultant umbrella frame will also be lighter weight than a conventionalumbrella frame and capable of being disassembled and re-assembled easilyby the user without the need for any tools to facilitate packing.

Having now fully set forth the preferred embodiment and certainmodifications of the concept underlying the present invention, variousother embodiments as well as certain variations and modifications of theembodiments herein shown and described will obviously occur to thoseskilled In the art upon becoming familiar with said underlying concept.For example, size can be scaled up by different geometric configurationsthat increase the number of pieces of rib assembly 9.

For example, FIG. 10 illustrates another embodiment of the umbrella 108with six identical arms 120 arrayed in a hexagonal array with a hexagonshaft 110 mid canopy 118. The distal top end of shaft 110 is insertedinto a hexagonal cap 115 and a similar cap clip (as above) may be formedin shaft 113 to lock it in place. The bottom end of the shaft 110 duringuse, comprises a grip 113. As seen in FIG. 11, a lower clip 112 isformed approximately two-thirds of the way up shaft 110 towards the capclip. In this embodiment, a hexagonal collar 114 is provided for arms120 to snap into. Six identical arms 120 connect to shaft 110 andsupport the hexagonal umbrella canopy 118. All six arms 120 have thesame T-shaped construction with stretchers joining ribs at a livinghinge or other pivot mechanism. However, rather than the arms 120themselves forming a four-sided sleeve 14 (as per FIG. 5), they snap-fitinto a hexagonal collar 114 surrounding shaft 10 and capable of slidingup and down thereon between lower clip 112 and cap 115 to open and closethe umbrella canopy 118.

FIG. 12 is a front perspective view of collar 114 illustrating thelocking engagement of arm 120 therein. FIG. 13 is a top view. Collar 114is formed with a six vertical grooves into which the distal ends ofstretchers 121 may be locked in place. Again, this simplified, four-armconstruction provides a completed umbrella 108 which is far easier andless expensive to manufacture and which comprises a much morelightweight product than prior art umbrellas.

It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention may be practicedotherwise than as specifically set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. An umbrella, comprising: an elongate shaft; a plurality ofpairs of arms each comprising an elongate stretcher pivotally joined atone end to a mid-section of an elongate rib, the opposing ends of all ofsaid stretchers being connected in a sleeve that is slidably engagedalong a mid-section of said elongate shaft, and a distal end of all ofsaid ribs being connected in a receptacle affixed to a distal end ofsaid shaft; and a folding canopy supported by said plurality of pairs ofarms.
 2. The umbrella according to claim 1, wherein each said elongatestretcher is pivotally joined to each corresponding rib at a livinghinge.
 3. The umbrella according to claim 1, wherein said plurality ofpairs of arms comprises two pairs of arms.
 4. The umbrella according toclaim 3, wherein said plurality of pairs of arms comprise a first pairof arms and a second pair of arms smaller than said first pair of arms.5. The umbrella according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of pairs ofarms comprises three pairs of arms.
 6. The umbrella according to claim5, wherein said three pairs of arms are connected, to a discrete collarthat is slidably engaged along a mid-section of said elongate shaft. 7.The umbrella according to claim 1, wherein said shaft comprises a firstclip for removably attaching said cap to said shaft.
 8. The umbrellaaccording to claim 7, wherein said shaft comprises a second clip forlimiting sliding range of said sleeve.
 9. An umbrella, comprising: anelongate shaft; a flexible canopy; two long arms each comprising a firstelongate rib joined at roughly a midpoint thereof by a first elongatestretcher, said near end of said first rife and said first stretchereach comprising at least one lateral groove; and two short arms eachcomprising a second elongate rib joined at roughly a midpoint thereof bya second elongate stretcher, said near end of said second rib and saidsecond stretcher each comprising at least one perpendicular tongue, saidtongues sized to correspond in shape and size to said at least onelateral groove.
 10. The umbrella according to claim 9, wherein each saidelongate stretcher is pivotally joined to each corresponding rib at aliving hinge.
 11. The umbrella according to claim 9, wherein said shaftcomprises a first, clip for removably attaching said cap to said shaft.12. The umbrella according to claim 9, wherein said shaft comprises asecond clip for limiting sliding range of said sleeve.